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The South Carolina women's basketball and LSU rivalry continued on Friday but left Flau'Jae Johnson disheartened. Although South Carolina achieved history in the win against LSU, they were also in the headlines for less than admirable reasons.
During the game, the Gamecocks DJ played the song “Cut Friends” by the rapper Camouflage, who was Johnson's father, Jason Johnson. He tragically was killed in a shooting in 2003, roughly six months before Johnson was born.
She thought that gesture wasn't too kind. Although LSU lost, Johnson took to social media and said “I'll take my L on the chin, but this just nasty behavior. Nun funny bout that.”
As a result, the South Carolina basketball program issued a statement about that song and emphasized a crucial point.
“We are addressing Friday night's inappropriate in-game song selection and subsequent [social media] post by the DJ who is hired to work our women's basketball games,” South Carolina's statement read. “Her actions were understandably upsetting to Flau'Jae Johnson and her family and disrespectful to the LSU program and fans.”
South Carolina basketball's gesture to Flau'Jae Johnson is sportsmanlike
While conference rivalries are a huge part of college, there's a level of sportsmanship that needs to be involved. At the end of the day, these players are still kids. They go to school, pursue a degree, and are learn the ropes of life. Some of those lessons could be how to handle grief.
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In an instance like this, it might trigger Johnson to hear a song by her late father who was tragically killed. Meanwhile, the South Carolina DJ replied to Johnson's post with “My bad” and a laughing emoji. Shortly thereafter, she posted more of a direct and apologetic statement.
Actions like these are some that Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley doesn't stand for. Her standard is the same, both on and off the court. For instance, Staley declared that South Carolina basketball is ready for a “Repeat Tour” of another national championship.
Still, some matters go beyond the game, and this is one of those.
“Conference rivalries and passionate fan bases should only serve to enhance sports, not be used to target individual players personally,” the statement read. “We regret that it came to that in our venue after a game that saw both teams capture the level of national attention that women's basketball has earned. We apologize to Flau'Jae, her family, and LSU.”
South Carolina basketball and LSU could meet once again, possibly in the SEC championship game. The song likely won't be played, but it could give Johnson more motivation to have a big game against her rival.
